Some freezing rain predicted in afternoon, evening hours

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for much of the Upstate, including Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. today.

By Jenny Arnoldjennifer.arnold@shj.com

It'll be cold and some wintry precipitation will fall, but officials aren't predicting a major ice storm today.The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for much of the Upstate, including Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. today.The weather service predicts that freezing rain and sleet will fall before 4 p.m., with a mix of rain and freezing rain between 4 and 5 p.m. and then freezing rain before 9 p.m. The chance of precipitation is 80 percent during the day, with ice accumulation of less than a tenth of an inch.The high temperature for the day will be in the mid 30s.“There will be some stuff on the roads, but not enough to pull any trees or power lines down,” said Spartanburg County Emergency Management Coordinator Doug Bryson. “It could be a messy drive home in the afternoon, with some slick spots.”After Friday's chill and rain, the weekend will be sunny, with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s. There will be a warm-up beginning Tuesday, when daytime temperatures will rise into the 60s through the remainder of the work week, according to the weather service.Local officials ranging from law enforcement to firefighters, DHEC workers, public works employees and even veterinarians received previously scheduled training on a new computer system using a winter weather scenario on Thursday.“It just happens to be a day before we have possible winter weather,” Bryson said.One of the models had several inches of snow on all interstates in the county, with an overturned tanker on Interstate 85 possibly leaking a hazardous material.Bryson said it's good for the variety of officials to meet and discuss response options before an emergency happens.

“They've had a lot of face-to-face interaction today,” Bryson said. “It's all about relationships.”

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